Kern County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
Golden Hills Community Services District Water Management and District Compliance Issues
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 5 findings
F1
Tom Sawyer Lake is a necessary water retention area for non-potable water from the Golden Hills Sanitation Company’s discharge, as well as for “dip” use by Kern County Fire Department helicopters. It also provides area residents with a small riparian reserve for family enjoyment. 3 71
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
GHCSD should continue to monitor the costs vs. benefits of pumping additional water into Tom Sawyer Lake with an eye towards conservation. (Finding 1)
F2
Brown Act requirements appear to be observed.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Posting of Board Meeting Minutes to the website is sometimes not timely, which can hinder transparency.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
GHCSD should implement a system to ensure timely posting of Board Meeting Minutes by March 1, 2023. (Finding 3) NOTES: • The Golden Hills Community Services District should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review. • Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at the Kern County Grand Jury website. • Present and past Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website. RESPONSE DEADLINES: • REQUIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS FROM: GHCSD 4 72 RESPONSES ARE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PENAL CODE §§933(c) AND 933.05 WITHIN 90 DAYS TO: PRESIDING JUDGE • KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 FOREMAN • TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. California Penal Code §929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury do not contain the names of any person or facts leading to identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. 5 73
F4
Since the resignation of the management team in 2017, relations between the new management team and workers have improved with no complaints of harassment allegations, conflicts of interest or hostile work environment complaints being filed.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The current GHCSD building is adequately designed for the operational needs of the District and local community. COMMENTS: The Grand Jury would like to thank the board and staff of GHCSD for their cooperation during this investigation. We also thank the board and staff of TCCWD for their help in preparing this report.
No recommendations for this finding
Comments 6
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CO1The Golden Hills Community Services District should post a copy of this report where it will be available for public review.
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CO2Persons wishing to receive an email notification of newly released reports may sign up at the Kern County Grand Jury website.
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CO3Present and past Final Reports and Responses can be accessed on the Kern County Grand Jury website. RESPONSE DEADLINES:
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CO4REQUIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS FROM: GHCSD 4 72 RESPONSES ARE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PENAL CODE §§933(c) AND 933.05 WITHIN 90 DAYS TO: PRESIDING JUDGE
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CO5KERN COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 212 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 FOREMAN
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CO6KERN COUNTY GRAND JURY 1415 TRUXTUN AVENUE, SUITE 600 BAKERSFIELD, CA 93301 Reports issued by the Grand Jury do not identify individuals interviewed. California Penal Code §929 requires that reports of the Grand Jury do not contain the names of any person or facts leading to identity of any person who provides information to the Grand Jury. 5 73 APPENDIX A 6 74 7 75 GLOSSARY: 8 76 Brown Act: The Ralph M. Brown Act is a California law that guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. Located in California Government Code 54950 et seq., it is an act of the 1952 California State Legislature authored by Assembly Member Ralph M. Brown. Community Service District Law (CSD): Community Service Districts are a form of independent local government used to provide services in unincorporated areas of a county. A CSD is authorized to provide a wide variety of services, including water, garbage collection, waste-water management, security, fire protection, public recreation, street lighting, mosquito abatement, conversion of utilities to underground, library services, ambulance service, and graffiti abatement. State Water Project (SWP): The State Water Project is the nation’s largest state-built water and power development conveyance system. The primary purpose of the SWP is to provide water supply and delivery system to distribute water across California. Watermaster: The Watermaster Program ensures that water is allocated according to established water rights as determined by court adjudication or agreement by an unbiased, qualified person, thereby reducing water rights court litigation, civil lawsuits, and laws enforcement workload. 9 77 78 79 80 81
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Golden Hills Community Service District
Special District